


WAR REPARATIONS

by femmefan1946



Category: Firefly
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-01-23 20:56:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1579277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/femmefan1946/pseuds/femmefan1946
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>LES FLEURS DE MAL</p>
<p>This is the story of how Malcolm Reynolds, rancher, soldier, orphan, builds a new family. </p>
<p>It should be mentioned that building a family can mean adding children and if you don't know where babies come from, well, sometimes when a mummy and a daddy love each other very much, they share special kinds of cuddles that can start a baby. Some of those cuddles will be described in great detail.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE - WAR REPARATIONS  
  
The Alliance colonel looked over the prisoners, seated in the auditorium of the ship.  
  
“Gentlemen. As you know the Independents have signed the surrender and part of the  
agreement was an amnesty for troops.  
  
“With a very few exceptions, some high ranks and accused war criminals, this will be  
considered an honourable discharge. We are all citizens of the Chinese-American  
Alliance and you will have the full privileges of citizenship.  
  
“You will be released to your home planet or to the planet of your choice. The Alliance  
will provide transportation. You will receive your back pay, in Independent scrip, which  
can be exchanged for Alliance coin or scrip at par for the next 60 days. After that  
Independent scrip will be demonetized.  
  
“You will receive a new set of clothing, the same clothing that discharged Alliance  
troops will receive. There are to be no differences made between the soldiers of each side.  
  
“Some of your fellow soldiers still require medical care. They will be treated in Alliance  
military hospitals until they are capable of being discharged. If necessary, this treatment  
may continue for the rest of their lives.  
  
“You will receive an Alliance ident card. You have the choice of being chipped with it or  
not, like any other citizen. If you have any personal identification, including dogtags or  
papers, please have them ready for the clerks.  
  
“Are there any questions?”  
  
Zoe looked over at her sergeant. “I reckon we’ll pass on being chipped, sir?”  
  
“I just want to get home to Shadow. The ride will help, money will help more. But I don’t  
even want the gorram ident card. And I definitely am not bein’ chipped like a steer.”  
  
“I dunno where my family ship is. With luck the purplebellies will be allowing us to send  
waves.”  
  
“Come to Shadow, if you have any trouble findin’ ‘em. My mother would be right  
delighted to meet you.”  
  
“Will do. And that’s us dismissed. I’m in the A line – the R’s are over there.”  
  
“Thanks Corporal.”  
  
The Alliance clerks were surprising fast at processing the few survivors of Serenity  
Valley. Most had no ident except dogtags. A few claimed not to have even those. New  
lives and new identities were being formed.  
  
The Alliance ship was set up like a military base on the edge of a small town, with  
a civilian population catering to the off duty needs and desires of the uniforms. The  
released prisoners could stay in barracks or with luck find a hotel room and privacy for  
the first time in months.  
  
The next morning found Mal Reynolds lining up at a public Cortex. He spotted Zoe just  
back of him and called out , “Found your ship yet?”  
  
“No response from my mother. My father’s account is closed. I think that means we’ve  
lost him. I’ll try my brothers next”  
  
“I’m up next. Stay with me. I’ll introduce you to my mother. “  
  
“You’re really looking forward to goin’ home? There was some heavy fighting on  
Shadow I hear. Things will have changed.”  
  
“”Everything will have changed. But with a ranch, nothing changes. Cattle need tendin’,  
buyers need findin’. Be nice to see a clear horizon and purple skies again.”  
  
“Purple?”  
  
“Yeah, somethin’ to do with protozoa in the oceans. I was surprised the first time I saw a  
blue sky.”  
  
“You’re up, sarge” said the Browncoat leaving the console. ” Best of luck with your  
wave.”  
  
“By your manner, you found your folks?” “Yes, Off home to Canton. “  
  
Mal punched in his mother’s code and his own. “Account closed” flashed on the screen.  
“Please hold for verification.”  
  
“That’s odd,” said Zoe. “There was nothing about verification on my father’s closed  
account.”  
  
“Please print out this document and bring it to Alliance War Reparations.”  
  
“Sounds bad.”  
“Naw. Just government gettin’ in the way. I’ll try it again.”  
  
Same result.  
  
“War reparations”,  
  
The clerk looked at the printout and asked Mal for his ident card. “Ah, Browncoat. Well,  
this is usually connected to a payment for expropriated property. Give me a moment, Lieutenant.”  
  
“Zoe, I don’t have any property. The ranch is my mother’s, free and clear. No  
mortgage, no husband, no partners.”  
  
“I’m not happy about this either, sir.”  
  
The clerk returned. “Looks like this will take a little longer than I thought. Could I ask you  
to return tomorrow at 1400 hours?”  
  
Mal agreed, puzzled.  
  
“And, soldier? I am sorry for your loss.”  
  
"Loss….."  
  
“Your mother’s death. During the fighting on Shadow.”  
  
“Fighting. She’s a rancher, not a soldier. What happened?”  
  
“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t have that information. Perhaps I will have more information when  
you return tomorrow.”


	2. A RANCH ON SHADOW

CHAPTER TWO - A RANCH ON SHADOW

Zoe found one of her brothers near Persephone, running ‘transport’, which was  
probably smuggling, since that had been the family specialty for   
generations.

“Alleyne is a Cornish name from Earth-that–was. We’ve always run to smugglers and  
pirates. Kinda traditional for us.” she explained to Mal.

“So you have a job to go to?”

“Guess. Not my favourite brother and he don’t know where mamma is. Not her favourite  
son come to that.”

“So what now? I’m up for gettin drunk, gettin laid, and having a meal with some food in  
it. Not necessarily in that order. Wanna come along?”

“Up for the food. Up for the drunk. But not for the ruttin', if you don’t mind. At least not  
us two. War’s over.”

“Huh. Okay, fair enough, let’s see if there is a restaurant good enough for us on this boat. Then a bar  
bad enough.”

 

Both were still hungover when they got back to War Reparations.

The clerk had a thick file ready for Mal. “The fighting on Shadow was short and sharp.  
Alliance troops landed without trouble and requisitioned civilian products for resupply of  
troops in the field.

“The civilian leadership acquiesced and terms of payment were worked out. Whether  
those terms were unacceptable to the farmers, ranchers and manufacturers or whether  
they were Browncoat sympathizers is not clear from the records. There was armed  
resistance to Allied troops collecting.

“It remains unclear whether troopers got out of hand, or whether they were acting on  
orders, but many ranchers and farmers were killed. Your mother is recorded as one of  
the fatalities. “

Mal sat stunned. Zoe put her hand on his thigh.

“I don’t know if this is worse or better, Captain Reynolds.” continued the clerk. “As Ms.  
Reynolds’ only relation, you are her heir. However, as part of the subjugation of the  
rebellion, all the livestock of the rebels were seized and the properties razed. There is  
no ranch any more. The land, at this time, is unusable from herbicides and  
fire. Again, it is not clear if this was a rogue action on the part of troopers or if orders  
were given from a higher authority.

“What is clear, is that the Alliance is making reparations for the collateral damage of the  
action."

Mal just looked at the clerk. Zoe had seen that look in Serenity Valley after they had  
been told to lay down arms. She tightened her grip on his thigh.

“The Alliance has made funds available to purchase the expropriated lands at their pre-  
war value. In addition, the seized livestock will be paid for under the agreement made  
by the Shadow authorities before hostilities erupted.”

"血淋淋的该死的猪狗屎袋，烂龟骨"

“Well, yes, “ said the clerk, “Would you like a cup of tea?” She smiled nervously. “I’m not  
allowed anything stronger at my desk.”

“Give us a moment, please.” asked Zoe. “this is a lot…”

“Of course. I’ll make that tea and give you a moment to reflect.”

“混蛋官僚窝囊废。他妈的茶。” swore Mal.

“She means well. She is tryin' to be kind.”  
“Well, it’s not workin'.”

“Try to cool down. This is a lot to take in. We could pretend last night all was shiny, but this is today  
and this is reality, sir.”

“Zoe. All I want is to go home. Rebuild. Take care of my mother, maybe find a girl and  
make a new family. Now…”

“We can still go to Shadow, sir. There may be something there for you.”

“No. Folks out our way… it wasn’t the expropriation. They were all Independents. There  
were half a dozen signed up same time as me, with their families’ blessing, just like I  
had. Now they’re all gone, murdered by some rampaging purplebellies… 为人类肮脏的  
卫生纸中央政府道歉”

“I’ll say it again, sir, I’m not disagreeing. But let’s see where the path leads before we  
start hittin’ people.”

The clerk reentered the room with a tray. She poured for Mal and Zoe, then took her  
own mug. “World’s Best Mom” it said. Mal looked at it bitterly.

“Oh. I’m sorry. My girl gave this to me for my…” she extended her hand to Mal, who  
pulled back swiftly.

“Perhaps we should keep this business-like.” Zoe said flatly.

“Yes. Well. The proving of the estate will be expedited. The inspectors who are looking  
into Shadow have already approved the funding and all we need is to prove that you are  
in fact the heir. Your ident from yesterday will be enough for that. “

“Seems sloppy.”

“Well, Ms... ? , I’m sorry, we were not introduced."

“Corporal Zoe Alleyne. I served under Sergeant Reynolds until we were ordered to surrender at  
Serenity Valley. We were mustered out with battlefield commissions. Still seems strange to us.”

Mal was still staring at the mug.

“I’ll assume you are in his confidence, then. The estate comes to 250 thousand  
platinum. That should be enough to set up a new operation on another world. Frankly,  
from what I saw in my research yesterday, it will be a long time before Shadow is  
inhabitable again.”

Zoe was, if possible, even more expressionless than usual.

The clerk forged on, "We will set up a bank account that Captain Reynolds can access. We  
prefer a second signer, because many of the recipients are still a little,..”

“You think the sergeant would try to drink that 250 thousand platinum 'thout  
supervision?”

“Sadly, Corporal Alleyne, it has happened. These times are difficult for soldiers. On both  
sides of the peace.”

“Sir. Are you up to speed yet?”

“Zoe?”

“Shall we set up the account? Are you willing for me to be your second signer? “

“Yeah, yeah. Fine. Then what….Let’s get out of this"

“Could you set up the account for him. If you need time..”

“I will, but if you came back at this time tomorrow, I should have the paperwork  
processed and ready to sign.”

“Thank you , Corporal Shen. And I apologize for the sergeant’s less than pleasant and calm  
demeanor.”

“He didn’t try to stab me, like the guy this morning, so I’m fine. Tomorrow at 1400?”

"臭烘烘的厕所”

Zoe took Mal back to the hotel room they had shared the previous night.

” Sir. If I can make a suggestion?”

“What is it Corporal?”

“Come with me to Persephone. It’s an urban world, mostly. I’ve been there before, as a  
kid, we based there when us kids was doing our Federal Twelve prep. Take a look  
around, some R&R. Mebbe get a picture of where you want to go from there.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“Someone to stand with me against my brother. Suspect I’ll need that. A friend, I hope.  
And maybe I have an idea for a business opportunity….”

\-----------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mal was from a rural world. His family, which had 40 employees , would have been quite comfortable. Today an employee is generally expected to make 10 times his salary for his employer to be worth hiring. Between the loss of a large ranch and several thousand beeves , I don't think 250,000 is particularly generous. And how much is an abandoned, non-running spaceship worth anyway?   
> It makes sense that Zoe would be the one to think of shipping as a future. She has the background in the field, even though she would have joined up at about the same age as Mal, she is a few years older. And the mention of piracy was intentional. The Alleynes are not necessarily criminal, but they do have an eye on the main chance. And Zoe here has the trust of a shell shocked friend with a suddenly fat wallet.


	3. KAYWINNET FINDS WORK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demobbed in 2511 C.E. , Mal bought Serenity sometime in 2512C.E.   
> Wash joined the crew soon after, along with Bester, who brought a curious and randy girl aboard in 2513 C.E.

KAYWINNET FINDS WORK 

Daddy was pleased that I had a job offer, but less happy when I told him i would be mechanic on a spaceship.  
He was downright grumpy when the Captain came on the mule to pick me up with my stuff.  
'She's never been off this world.'  
"So she said.'  
'She ain't trained on spaceships, all's she got is what I taught her, and I ain't trained on no spaceships, neither.'  
'I understand that.'  
'She's pretty young.'  
'Yeah.'  
Then the two of them just stood sorta glaring at each other for a bit.  
'I need me a mechanic that understands my boat. She spotted and fixed what my trained mechanic couldn't'  
'She can do that. Got a knack. A talent.'  
I could see Daddy softening.  
'What's your boat?"  
'Serenity's a Firefly 03.'  
'Serenity?'  
'Yes.'  
I didn't know what that meant, then, I didn't even have no boobs when the War ended. And we didn't have no celebrations when it did. Daddy's eldest was killed at Sturges.  
So they stood there for a while.  
'No wonder you need a mechanic, them Fireflies is older n me. '  
'Good mechanic can keep her flying forever, if the parts is available.'  
'Did we settle wages?'  
'She'll get ten percent of the profit after expenses, her own bunk, and free run of the kitchen.'  
Daddy nodded. 'She'll do.'  
I hugged him and ran upstairs to my bedroom and started packing. 

When I came down the Captain was gone and a tall brown woman was there instead.  
'Zoe Alleyne. First Mate. Captain sent me to get you settled.'  
Daddy looked uncomfortable, and Mum was cry-smiling.  
'Ms. Alleyne? You'll see that she comes to no harm?'  
'There's just four crew, M'am. You've met the captain and me, we got a pilot who seems harmless enough. Then your daughter.'  
Mum looked happier that I wouldn't be the only female on board.  
'You remember your coming up. You remember to be a good girl and mind your employers like they was your parents.'  
'Yes, Mum.'  
And Mummy kissed me and Daddy kissed me, and I got on the mule with Zoe and that was the last time I saw them for near on two years. 

I got my coveralls on and got stuck in with the engine. Weren't nothing much wrong with it, cepting needing cleaning, so I scrubbed it down with solvent and listened to her complaints.  
Mum had sent a box of garden stuff with me, and an apple pie from our tree out back. At dinner, which was pretty awful, cept for the pie, the captain listened to me babble on about what Serenity needed and agreed to buy a few parts if I could find them at Honest Austin's salvage. I told him that Leroy always gave me good prices and Daddy usually sent me to pick stuff up for him.  
The pilot said,'That does not surprise me a bit. ' and Zoe gave him a funny look.

After dinner, I went back to the engine room and set up my tool bench. The captain came with me.  
'Do these tools belong to Serenity or to Bester? Cause I like to keep my things where I can find them fast and keep them nice."  
'When he left, he was swearing something fierce. I don't think he'll be back.'  
'He left?' I had missed that part. I thought I would be working with Bester, and maybe screwing him too. He wasn't much of a mechanic, and he wasn't much for helping a girl out, but he had a nice body and good enough in a tumble.  
'Don't need more than one mechanic, boat this size.'  
I was shocked at how much trust the captain was putting in me. I was pretty sure I could handle it, long as I could call Daddy on the cortex if I ran into a big problem, but this was more responsibility than I thought I would have.  
'So she's my baby? I'm the only one who can keep us flying?"  
'Pilot knows about the navigation and computer systems. And he worked a bit with Bester, until he stopped. Huh. Gave up, more like.'  
There were tools all over the place. Captain watched me as I found them and put them in order with my own. I had to put some aside for cleaning. Bester wasn't much for helping his tools out either. Only tool he thought about was his dick, reckon.  
The captain watched as I cleaned my hands. 'You'll be wanting your bed soon. Long day. I'll show you your bunk.'  


My stuff was already in the bunk. I guess Zoe or the captain had put it there.  
There was only one light, a glarey overhead thing with no shade. The walls were mostly grey, except where they were rusty, and everything was dirty. Not deep down dirty, just not used in a long time. One wall curved in over the little bed. But there was new mattress, still rolled in its burlap sack, and pretty good cupboard space and a cortex screen so I could listen to music or watch my stories. And there was a sink.  
The captain read my mind. 'There's a head with a shower at the other end of the hall. And.." He pushed the sink and a commode swung up. I couldn't help it, I laughed.  
The captain smiled back. I think that was the first time I had ever seen him smile. Mostly he looked sad or angry, like he couldn't stop thinking about something that tore him up and he couldn't do anything about it.  
'Zoe's next door to you, the pilot across the hall, and I'm in the biggest cabin next to him. It says Captain on the door, if you need anything.'  
'I think i'm good. I'm real grateful for this job, capt'n.'  
'Do it right, and you're here as long as you want to be. Screw up, and I'll drop you back home.' The frown was back.  
'I have a question, though.'  
'Sure.'  
'What's your name? Everybody just called you Captain.'  
'Captain's fine, but my name is Malcolm Reynolds. What's yours?'  
'Kaywinnet Lee Frye, but Kaylee's fine."  
'Kaywinnet. Pretty.' He smiled again.  
'Malcolm.'  
And since I still was feeling excitable, I took his hands in mine and stroked my thumbs over his palms. 'You've been so good to me, Malcolm, is there anything you would like from me?'  
He snatched his hands back. 'I'm your captain, Kaylee, not your boyfriend.' His frown was back and he climbed up the ladder and out of my bunk. 

But I had made him smile.


	4. IN THE MARKET    2513 CE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff.

IN THE MARKET

Mal saw the purplebelly patrol before Kaylee, who was inspecting some pears at a fruit stall in the Boros marketplace.  
Pulling her into an alley, he pushed her up against the wall and covered her mouth with his, hiding their faces.  
Kaylee was startled, but made no objection, and when Mal thought the patrol had passed, he opened his eyes and broke the kiss.  
“Sorry, mei mei, I didn't want the feds to see us so soon after that last job here. You okay?”  
“Sure, cap'n. You can have me up against a wall anytime you like.”   
Kaylee sauntered back to the fruit stall.  
“Well, that's good. “ thought Mal, “Hey, what did she say!”


	5. HEAT WAVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's innocent, but not naive.

CHAPTER FOUR - HEAT WAVE

'Kaylee, why are your toes blue?'

'Like it, Cap’n? It’s just nail varnish. Cute huh?'

'Umm… ' Mal tried to get past his mechanic’s disconcerting feet, which were usually encased in heavy safety boots. 'Umm, yeah. How is this temperature thing comin’?'

'Got it made in the shade, Cap. I’ve run the greywater pipin’ through the heevac so’s we can use less energy in distillin’ that for the recyclin’ and that will pull some heat outta the HVAC so’s it uses less fuel.'

' ‘Kay. Now in Captain Dummy talk?

Kaylee slid out from below the engine.

'Whoah! Nekkid!' Mal swiftly turned his back.

'Am not! I got some clothes on.' giggled Kaylee. 'Anyways, we recycle most of our water right? What comes out of the tap for cookin’ and washin’ and drinkin’. So when it goes down the sink again, that’s greywater. Not pure any more. An’ if you use the light flush button on the commode when you pee, that’s greywater too.'

'Okay. Greywater.'

'An’ if you use the heavy flush button, that goes to the blackwater tank . That’s what the honeywagon takes when we land dirtside. And not even that every time.'

'So we distill greywater and reuse it.' Kaylee was putting her tools carefully back in their places. The captain’s back was still firmly turned. She smirked.

Kaylee wasn’t the only one who had stripped down while Serenity suffered a heat wave. Mal had switched his usual longsleeved wool shirt to a red teeshirt that showed off his broad shoulders, strong pecs and massive biceps. Kaylee was impressed. That the tee was also rather clingy from the captain's sweat was kinda exciting.

Her tools neatly stowed, Kaylee, who was wearing tiny cotton shorts and a singlet, moved to stand behind the captain. His back stiffened, aware of her. Kaylee was a tip top mechanic, and the captain was not about to jeopardize that by noticing that she was also a girl, a woman, a very attractive woman.

He was determined that he had almost forgotten his first glimpse of her. And he had certainly forgotten that his first knowledge of her existence was her moans of passion as she screwed the useless Bester, the mechanic she had replaced.

Absolutely, she got the job by showing her genius with machines. Nothing else.

'So what I did was, I run the greywater through the HVAC and use the excess heat from  the engine to reduce the fuel we need for distillin’. And I used the greywater to cool the compression coils so’s we use less fuel for that. Good, eh?'

By now, Kaylee was only a few inches behind Mal. She was admiring his apple cheeks, set off nicely in his thin cotton pants.

Mal, however, was feeling a little tense. He was uncomfortable not facing Kaylee while she chattered so gaily. But he was all kinds of uncomfortable about turning around, especially... ummm.

Kaylee was young, but she knew a few things about men. She might not know the word “pheromone” but she did know that her scent would carry a message straight to the reptile brain of any man near her. And Mal’s cotton pants seemed to be getting a little strained across his backside, because of what was happening at the frontside.

'Anyway, I was thinkin’. We’re okay with these society baths, I guess…'

'Society baths?'

'You know, just washin’ all the bits, as they comes available.'

'Oh, sponge baths.'

'That what you call it?' Kaylee paused and let the idea of washing all her bits percolate for a moment. Was the captain’s tee shirt a little sweatier? 'Kay, so I was thinkin’, with some tubin’ , copper for preference but rubber would do, I could turn two of the passenger bunks into a shower room. I can do lots of things with rubber tubin''

Definitely sweating. Kaylee took a deep breath. Nice. Not only women had pheromones.

'See, they got a sink/commode already, so I could use that for water supply and drainage.'

'Why two bunks?'

'Well, we’ve never had enough passengers to rent ‘em all out. So no loss there. An’ with two, well you know what they say; save water, shower with a friend.'

The back of the captain's neck was turning red.

Time to release him, she decided. 'Anyways, if you wanna let the crew know that the temprachur should be back to normal in ‘bout an hour, we should be fine. Think about the shower.'

'Uh. Yeah. Fine. I’ll let them know.'

Kaylee was impressed that he was able to walk away. She half expected that he would bolt.

But she could wait. For a while anyway.

Until then, there was always her BoB.


	6. INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of those cuddles I mentioned earlier are here.

CHAPTER FIVE -- INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING

Zoe and Wash smiled at the sleepers on the chesterfield in the lounge. Both Kaylee and the Captain had dropped off during vid night and slept peacefully as the rest of the crew quietly cleared up the remaining shrimp crackers, popcorn and other salty snacks.   
"Captain needs his sleep. He's been walking around late at night again." said Zoe. "Kaylee seems pretty out of it too."  
"Leave them. If you wake Kaylee, you'll wake Mal. Then he'll be clomping up and down the corridor all night."  
As they left for their bunk, twined together, Kaylee slept on with her head on Mal's chest. 

Nearly an hour later, she stirred. Moving her head she found her face less than a centimetre from Mal. She grinned at his peacefully sleeping face, and his deep breathing,not quite a snore. She closed the tiny space and kissed his cheek. "I love my Captain, " she murmured. 

Kaylee gazed at his sleeping face, for once calm and showing his actual youth. She always had been aware he was a handsome man, but sleeping he looked perhaps even a little angelic. The anger and melancholy erased by slumber. She kissed his lips. Startled by her own daring, she withdrew, but there was no reaction.   
Kaylee was intrigued. Mal often kissed her cheek or her head. He called her "mei-mei" and hugged his "little Kaylee". He loved her like his own sister.   
But that mouth was like... satin or something. Even this late at night his breath was fresh and sweet.   
She kissed his mouth again and touched her tongue to his slightly parted lips. She sighed and kissed him again, willing him to wake and kiss her back.   
He moved, without waking, and slipped from almost upright to prone on the chesterfield. Kaylee slipped down with him, still with his big arm across her shoulder, almost pinning her to his chest with the weight.   
The move put his delicious mouth out of her easy reach, and she sighed. Her hand moved across his broad chest and she felt the muscles there, strong, firm, and heavy.   
Kaylee knew that the Captain thought her out of bounds. He thought she was a kid who needed protection. Heck, he'd promised her daddy he would take care of her. But looking at his sleeping face she realized that he was not the mean old man he claimed, barely over thirty she thought. Maybe ten years older than she was.   
Her hands explored his sleeping body gently. His broad chest, his strong arms, his narrow hips. She wished he was on his side so she could touch his lovely ass. But on his back, that was out of reach. Out of bounds.  
Guiltily, she ran her hands over his thick thighs. Then up his inner thigh and..... perhaps not... she gazed at his sleeping face and gently rubbed his cock through his pants. She felt a slight stirring and it firmed perceptibly at her touch. Not erect but definitely bigger and she wondered how big it got when he was fucking.   
What was she thinking? This was so inappropriate! But her soft strokes did not stop and his pants were starting to look a little strained.   
Kaylee was feeling a little strain herself. Her belly was clenching with excitement. Release was usually in her own hands with the help of some interesting gadgets she had purchased in various stopovers.   
Mal shifted and moved his own hand to his cock. Then seemed to fall into a deeper slumber .   
Kaylee reached out to the buttons of his fly and his cock was free. She stopped and admired his manhood. Large but not uncomfortably so. Thick but not too much to stretch...  
Inappropriate. Inappropriate. Inappropriate.   
And he was circumcised. Kaylee liked uncut men for fucking but ... if she was going to suck a cock, circumcised was just... nicer.   
Kaylee slipped a little lower and licked the tip. She knew boys liked when she blew them and she'd been told she was pretty good at it. She ran her tongue around the helmet and then pushed her mouth over and down, running her tongue along the sensitive vein. He was too big for her to take all of him in her mouth, but she moved, and sucked and hummed quietly while his breath quickened and his hips moved involuntarily.   
She ran her tongue along his slit and cupped his balls, still inside his pants, in her hand. Mal mumbled, just syllables, not English or Chinese, and jerked as he came in her mouth, hot and salty. Kaylee was caught a little unawares and nearly choked. Her eyes flew up to his face, but apparently he was having a dream. A very very pleasant dream.   
She reached over to the low table and found a napkin to spit the come into and wiped the inside of her mouth.   
Mal's erection was disappearing, which was a little disappointing, but she tucked his cock back into his pants and fastened the buttons. Slowly, she slipped from his sleeping embrace, kissed his satin mouth again and slipped off to bed. 

"I am a bad bad man," thought Mal. "A bad bad man." And grinned. And fell back asleep.   
\----------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2513 C.E. This would be before the Tams board Serenity. There is, I think, agreement that Kaylee has a strong sex drive. And that Simon doesn't. Just as his options are limited on a spaceship, so are Kaylee's. And she may not be as willing as Jayne to visit brothels when dirtside.


	7. A TON OF MONEY

A TON OF MONEY

Mal glared at Badger.   
‘What d’ya mean the cargo is bronzers? ”  
“Puts new meanin in the name two-bit thief, don’t it, sir?”  
“Naow, naow, Mal. Don’t get yer knickers in a bunch. We’re not stealin a few coins here. There’s a tonne …an acktuel tonne. …of coin available.”  
“What is that in value?” asked Zoe.  
“Ah, naow that’s the right question. It’s one an a half million twobyte coins. Total value three million.”  
“An our cut?”  
“Twenny five percent, on accounta the biggest problem will be disposing of them all. But that is my problem.”  
“So. Seventy five thou. In bronzers?”  
“Nah. In platinum, or notes if ya want.”  
“Coin, any day.”  
“So, we’re agreed?”  
“Let’s look at the plan, anyways.”

 

Jayne surveyed the dockyard. At this late hour, it was quiet and locked down. Bright lights flooded the place.  
“They got dogs?” he asked Mal.   
“Badger sez it’s took care of, same as the watchman.”   
“Dogs don’t take bribes.”  
“But they like high meat, even if it’s doctored. The watch is givin them something special with their dinner t’night. And then he keeps his back turned and we chloroform him, just a little.”  
Kaylee had hotwired a stolen truck for the container-trailer. Zoe, wearing the same thin leather gloves as the men, swung into the van whose door had been crudely jimmied.   
“I hate lookin so unprofessional, Mal.”  
“Stop callin me by name, durin a heist then. We don’t know that the yard ain’t miked too.”  
“There’s cameras?”  
“Course there’s cameras. That’s why she has the pregnant belly and blonde wig. That’s why the full beards. An’ why the burnooses. An why the truck hasta look like some amateurs took it.”   
Zoe checked her watch. “Showtime, sir.”

 

The plan went smooth. Jayne ‘overcame’ the watchman and duct taped him to an office chair, with just enough roughness to keep the cops from suspicion. The stolen truck was hitched to the container-trailer easily, since hitching and unhitching containers was a normal task for the crew of a transport.   
Then they were out of the gate, closing it behind them, and driving quietly into the centre of the city, where it was easy to get lost in the traffic.   
After an hour or so of random driving, they headed over a bridge to the pickup point, another transit yard, this one near the spaceport.   
At that yard, a new crew took over unloading the container into four smaller vehicles. One of Badger’s men, took Zoe’s belly and wig and drove the rig back into the city. He would abandon the rig near where it was stolen and dump the disguise in the washroom of a fast food restaurant. With luck, a tired cleaner would just toss the washroom trash into their dumpster and it would not be found.  
“Providin he don’t decide to choose a bar instead. Cops will check those first.”  
“His problem, not ours.”   
Badger had sent one of his gangsters to deliver their pay. Each got a heavy purse with 25 000 in platinum coin, which took a lot less room and weight than the bronzers had. The purses were still heavy, Mal gloated. 

 

Wash picked them up walking a few blocks from the transit yard in the mule. The burnooses went into a charity clothing bin on the way back to the spaceport.   
“Now we make a quick getaway in case the feds catch on to us, but we ain’’t got nuthin with us that connects us to the caper.”  
“Ooh, we did a caper! We never get to do a caper!” Wash and Kaylee high fived.   
Mal groaned. “Don’t celebrate yet. Badger is still using us. If the Feds manage to connect a ship leaving port quick after the ….robbery….” Kaylee looked disappointed that Mal hadn’t said ‘caper’ again.” We could still be in trouble. We gotta stash the coin for a while.”  
“We’re not far from my folks, capt’n. I could go for a short visit.”  
“There someplace to bank this coin?”  
“Easy peasy. My daddy’s got more outbuildin’s that he got kids.”

 

“Thank you for bringin my lil girlie back for this visit, Captain Reynolds.”  
“Thank you for lettin me take her in the first place, Mr. Frye.”  
“An the money she’s been sendin home, I can’t say that hasn’t been a help. Her lil sister is as smart with her head as Kaylee is with her hands. We’re hopin we can afford to send her to Academy after she finishes her Twelve. All the kids is putting in a bit for her tuition.”  
Mal took the plunge. “Mr. Frye, I gotta proposition for you. We done pretty good on our last job, pulled in some good coin. I don’t like banks an I don’t like carryin too much cashy money around with us.”  
“Mmmphm.”  
“Would you see your way clear to letting us keep a good portion here. Kaylee says you got lotsa outbuildings for storage.”  
“This cashy money wouldn’t be in bronzers, would it, Captain Reynolds?”   
“Nossir! We got paid in platinum.”   
“You heard about the Great Bronzer Robbery on Boros?”   
“We don’t pay much attention to newswaves in the Black, sir.”  
“Not exactly an answer to my question. Which is an answer in its own self. You ain’t putting my sweet girl in any danger?”  
“No moren any of us workin out here on the Rim. Things can get hairy at times and the Alliance ain’t too fond of us Independents, but seriously I never want any harm to come to your girl. She’s…. she’s our sunshine.”  
“That muscle ain’t givin her a hard time?”  
“Jayne? He tries anything, he knows I’d space him. Or worse, tell his ma on him.”  
“That kind of tough guy, eh? Alright. Pick a shed and put your stuff in it. Don’t tell me which one.”  
“Thank you, sir. An we’ll be making a contribution to the Academy fund.”  
“Yes, you will.”

 

“So Daddy was okay with leavin our money there?”  
“Once he was clear on Jayne’s intentions towards you, yep.”  
“Jayne’s? He didn’t ask about yours?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is based on an actual theft. In 1996, just after Canada dropped the $2 bill in favour of a $2 coin (the toonie, because the existing $1 coin which has a loon on the back, is the loonie), a truckload of newly minted coins was stolen from a rail siding in Quebec, never to be seen again.


	8. STILL  INAPPROPRIATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More cuddling. Consensual this time.   
> Inara rented the shuttle in 2515 C.E.

STILL INAPPROPRIATE

DELPHINIUMS

Kaylee always tried to sit next to Mal on vid nights. Even if they were not touching, his solid warm body nearby made her happy. And she hoped that one night he would drift asleep again during the program.  
Her thoughts dwelt on the night she woke beside him on the chesterfield and … well, inappropriate touching had ensued. Since Mal had not awoken, even when her naughty mouth brought him to orgasm, she had wanted to repeat the experience, but maybe this time with him awake and participating enthusiastically.  
A girl can dream.  
But Mal had taken to sitting in one of the chairs, by himself, since that evening. Kaylee was a little disappointed. She loved being cuddled by the Captain. And she knew he liked giving her little hugs and pecks , as if she were a puppy, instead of a grown and admittedly horny woman.  
Tonight, as he often did, the captain had dozed off during the program.   
The handsome, broody, Captain. Who treated her like a puppy.  
But still handsome. And distinctly male. And it had been a long time. Kaylee sighed.  
Mal shifted in the recliner. Kaylee found the afghan that her mother had given her when she left home on the chesterfield and spread it over him, since he looked to be settled in. Mal's insomnia was well known among the crew, who often heard his boots in the corridor in the small hours of ship's night.   
But the gesture and the slight weight of the blanket woke Mal fast, like the combat veteran he was.   
"Kaylee, what are you doing?"  
Kaylee pulled back," I just gave you a blanket 'gainst gettin' cold. I'm sorry I disturbed you."  
"That's all? "  
"Well, yeah." but she blushed, remembering the last time she had been alone with the sleeping man.  
"Okay.... Just... I....Thank you, mei-mei."   
'I'm not your mei-mei, you know," Kaylee found herself saying. "Do you really only think of me as your sister?"  
"Ah, lil Kaylee, you know that's just 'cause I'm right fond of you."  
"And I'm not that little,either. You may have ten centimetres on me, but I'm fully grown! I've been a woman for more'n six years." Kaylee was amazed that she was speaking aloud.   
'Kaylee, honey, I know that, but this mean old man..."  
"Oh cut it, Mal! How old are you anyway? Thirty one ? Thirty two? I'm twenty - you're nowhere near the age of my daddy and even he 's only bout forty two."  
Mal was as shocked as if a kitten had roared like a lion. " What is this all about Kaylee? What's got you so riled?"  
Kaylee found herself crying. "I don't want to be your mei mei. I want... I wish you were calling me bao bei. I don't want your little hugs. I want to be in your arms. I want you ... " She gulped. "I want you inside me."   
Mal sat up stunned.  
"Kaylee... "  
"Oh I know you don't want me like that. I'm just your pet. Petted when I do a good job with the engine. Ignored when you want to pretend what I'm asking for is just a whim."   
"Kaylee..."  
"Maybe I should just go home. I had offers. Two proposals before I was eighteen. Four more before I left. I could have a husband and a couple of babies..."  
"What would Serenity do without you?"  
"哦，闭嘴"  
"What would I do without you?"   
"Find another mechanic. Keep sniffing around Inara till one night she decides she wants a bit of rough. Or not."  
"That's not true."  
"Which part?"  
"Kaylee, I can't get involved with crew. It's not appropriate. I can't play favourites. "  
"You have such a pretty mouth. Please just shut up and kiss me." and Kaylee half leapt , half fell onto Mal's lap.  
"Oof. Well, that shows me you aren't a little girl. Damn sturdy woman in fact."  
"You're still talking."  
Mal's hand went to the back of Kaylee's head, his thumb wiped away the frustrated tears from her cheeks. He pulled her down and kissed her like a woman.  
Kaylee looked into his eyes while they kissed. She saw the tenderness for her there. And very quickly, lust. It had been a long time for Mal, too. His tongue flicked her lips open and touched hers. His hand on her head tightened.  
Mal pushed the afghan away with his right hand, then pulled Kaylee closer at her tiny waist. "Bao bei, I don''t want ever to make you cry. And I apologize for treating you like a puppy. Sometimes... I had to touch you, because you make the cloud go away. The big black dog that catches me. All the things that scare me. "  
"Oh."  
"I don't really know how to make sweet talk. The war ... Some of the soldiers were women, but,honestly, Zoe was the softest of them and it took a lot different man than I am to find that out.   
"But you make my life sweet. I'm .. I'm scared that makin you something more than that sweetness will change that. And since you ... since the other night...."  
"Oh.... You were awake."  
"Not zactly. I thought I was having a really good dream when I felt you unbuttonin my pants. And then it was so good I didn't want it to stop."  
"Oh. "  
His hand moved from her waist to her back, sliding under her gauzy blouse. She could feel his erection growing beneath her hip.   
"Would you make me feel that good, please, Mal?"  
"Kaylee...things would change. Are you sure, because really I'm not ... I don't want you to be less to me than you are now."   
Kaylee pulled Mal out of the recliner and over to the chesterfield, where her inappropriate behaviour had begun all this. She lifted her arms and Mal pulled her top over her head, then bent down to kiss her unencumbered breasts. Kaylee slid his suspenders off his shoulders and laughed when they got caught up in his arms circling her waist. Her hands went to his pant buttons, and she pushed down britches and underpants together.   
Mal stopped and looked seriously into her eyes. Whatever he saw there, made him smile and step back, which made him drop onto the chesterfield. He gave her a big grin. And he bent over to unlace his boots.   
Kaylee skimmed out of her own boots and her trousers, stopping for a moment to pose coquettishly in her cute flowered underpants. Mal looked up from removing his own pants and socks and gasped. " 宇宙光 . You are the most beautiful woman...." His hand reached out and stroked the curve of her waist and hip then back to her ass. He pulled her naked body to him and sighed as he kissed her belly.   
"I want to make you happy,"  
Kaylee lay back on the sofa cushions, enjoying the scratchy boucle fabric on her skin. She felt alive and tingly, not just because of the clench of excitement in her belly. She stroked Mal's hair. "Please"  
She grasped his cock, enjoying the stiffness and the heat in her hand. A few strokes and he grunted and pushed into her hand. She guided him to her centre, wet and ready for him. She thought she had been ready for him since the first moment she had seen him, then he was gently pushing into her. Each stroke made her clench tighter, but her tightness just made him more excited .   
"I'm not hurting you?", he asked in concern. She smiled and kissed him. "Push harder," she commanded. "Come into me-- all the way in."   
Kaylee had found Mal too big for her mouth but she knew she could handle everything he brought her. As he filled her, she felt complete and content. And when he started to move, her hips moved instinctively in a sweet counterpoint to his.   
Her breasts pushed against his firm chest, giving delicious friction to her nipples. He lay on her, so entranced with their joining that he rested all his weight on her, and she loved it. She loved the solidity of him, the hands on her head and her ass, stroking, the heat of his body in the cool night temperature of the ship.   
She found delight in looking into his eyes while he focussed on hers.   
She shivered as his pubic bone bumped and rubbed on her clit. And when his pushing found the sweet spot in her cunt, she had to bury her mouth in his shoulder to muffle her cry, hoping that no one would waken. The soft cry made his movements fiercer and faster. As her orgasm peaked, his began and the hot feel of him coming in her pushed her even higher.   
"Oh."   
"Huh."   
And they smiled into each others eyes. And shared a kiss.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> American readers should know that "a bit of rough" is a British expression referring to sexual relationships involving members of different social classes. There is not necessarily any S&M reference, unlike the American "rough trade". In spite of Mal's relatively wealthy background, which he rarely mentions, from a Core perspective, like that of Inara and Simon, he and the others of Rim origin would be rough in their speech and manners. And some would find that gave a frisson to a relationship....for a while.


	9. THERE'S GOT TO BE A MORNING AFTER - VIOLA TRICOLORE

THERE'S GOT TO BE A MORNING AFTER 

When Kaylee opened her eyes, Mal was gazing at her. His face was solemn. For over a minute, they were silent.  
"Good morning." "Good morning."  
Mal stroked Kaylee's cheek. His eyes were moist and as he touched her, tears formed.  
Kaylee felt tears form in her own eyes. She pulled herself towards the captain and kissed his mouth. Softly with her lips closed. He sighed.  
"What do we do next bao bei?" he asked.  
She kissed him again. "You sometimes think too much Mal. Personally I've gotta pee. " And she pulled herself over him to the other edge of his narrow bed, stopping for a few seconds to savour his solid body beneath her own and to rub her breasts again his bare chest. Then she skipped across the captain's dorm room and used the fold down commode.  
She washed her hands, then, feeling sticky and sweaty from their vigourous night, used the cloth to give herself a swift "society bath" as her mama had called it.  
She bounced back to the narrow bed, where Mal was looking stunned at her matter of fact attitude to what had opened an unexpected door. She pushed him aside as she climbed in beside him. "Go and make your self clean again" she said and as he obeyed , she added "是圣洁的 Mal, you have a really cute bum." She laughed again as she saw the blush rising up his chest to his face. Who knew that the tough captain could be embarrassed by a slightly bawdy compliment?

"I should git started with the day…" he muttered.

Kaylee was dumbfounded that the confident and skilled lover of the previous night was acting like the Ferris boy back home whose parents were real churchy types. When Kaylee was able to catch the eye of the boy, and show him some interesting things a boy could do with a girl, he too had been enthusiastic during and embarrassed after. 

"Mal, bao bei, you are a prude." she exclaimed, "C'mere and let's go again, put that mornin wood to best use. We're in the black with nothin goin on for days. Who'd notice us disappearin for a few more hours?"  
Mal was still looking embarrassed.


	10. STOCKING UP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal and Kaylee go shopping for groceries and parts.

STOCKING UP

 

The shuttle bucked and shook as Mal brought it to a landing on the outskirts of town.   
"Here we are , Kaylee. Close enough to the parts yard for ya?"  
Kaylee looked a little pale, "That was… interestin', captn. Shall I check the unnerkerrige fore I go shoppin'?"  
"Do I get a little respect? I got ya here didn't I?"  
"More or less in one piece, " Kaylee kissed his cheek. Mal 's return kiss left them both a little breathless. "Umm. We'd better get movin', captn. This world has a short day and we're burnin' daylight."  
Mal sighed. "Get off with ya. I’ll check out the general store for the grocery list and ask about anyone needin' cargo moved off world."  
They stood pressed together for a few more moments then broke.

"Okay. I'll comm ya when I've done my shoppin and you can do the dickerin."

"No matter what, be back before dark. I never trust these little places. Too many clan loyalties, not enough respect for the comefromaways."

Kaylee kissed his cheek again and skipped down the short ramp to the grassy meadow. The sky was puffy with clouds, and the shuttle's contrail was slowly blowing away. A warm late summer day with the smell of wet pine from last night's rain.  
Kaylee spotted the parts yard less than a kilometre from the shuttle, just past the building yard. There was a busy restaurant between them and with two crowded patios behind low cement breezeblock walls .

As she passed the building yard, Kaylee half noticed piles of cut lumber, a small fortune in expensive pine. It took 25 years to grow a tree, even fast growing pine or alder, to harvestable size and these newly terraformed worlds found it cheaper to build with concrete, adobe and brick. The yard's signs were in blue paint and the Blue Sun logo could be spotted on close inspection.

The parts yard was very well stocked. Kaylee thought she could have built her own Firefly from just the parts she could see. There were no primary buffer panels, absolute necessities, but hard to find used, since if they failed the effect on the ship was catastrophic, but there were replacement windows, only slightly scratched by meteoric dust. There was even an entire HVAC system taller than she was and several shower stalls.   
The yard was quiet. Kaylee wondered if the wide stock was because no one knew it existed or if there was another story, then she saw shelves piled with gauges, all carefully identified and all other thoughts went out of her head. 

Mal asked at the restaurant for directions to the grocery store. Turned out there were two of them. The waiter on one of the restaurant patios recommended Friendly Fred's. "Tell him Joey sent you. He'll give you a good price."

The waiter's directions were clear and Mal found the main drag easily. Oddly the shops seemed to mirror each other. Friendly Fred's Fine Foods and Chandlery was opposite Buddies in Bad Times Groceteria and Supplies. There was a small dress shop on each side of the street and even two banks both branches of BBSOsiris.   
And no one crossed the street. He saw one hover driving past a north side parking space to squeeze into a south side space.   
But Fred's prices were reasonable and his stock was fairly comprehensive. Mal filled most of the list and asked if they had chili-garlic sauce.  
"Right out and no resupply for a good month, friend."  
"Joey at the restaurant said you could do me a good deal on all this stuff."  
"It's a good sale, no question. I'll eat the sales tax on the few things that carry it--mostly the cleaning supplies- and I can do ten percent on the vittles."  
Mal had Emmad for more but smiled and counted out the coin. "Would you be able to deliver? Our shuttle is parked down by the parts yard."  
"Probably. How much longer before you back there?"  
"Bout an hour an a half. My mechanic is shoppin for parts. Gets all owleyed and greedylike and I gotta pry'er outta there fore I'm skinned of cashy money."  
Fred laughed, "Girl mechanic? Like to be worst of both worlds. The female love of shoppin plus the expensive tastes of a gearhead."  
Mal grinned, "Yah well, give this 'un a few shiny chunks of metal and she's happy. Like that hot sauce, my first mate's right fond of the stuff. Reckon mebbee, yer competition might have some?"  
Fred's face froze. "Doubtful. And his prices are some high."  
"I'll try anyways. Think you c'n get this order to the shuttle fore sundown?"  
"Mmm." said Fred," Come to think, I'm a little shorthanded. My nephew might be practicing with the high school cricket team the day. Any chance you can do your own pickup?"  
"Be a mite difficult." said Mal, his hand still on the coin.  
"Mmm."  
Mal clicked. It was mention of the competition that had ended the delivery offer.  
"Well, I'd best be getting back to the yard and the shuttle. No time for the chili-garlic sauce."  
Fred's face cleared. "Look, I'll comm my nephew. He can do the delivery on time and go back to the practice. Cricket, eh? They'll play for hours. We good?"  
"We good. And thanks."

At the parts yard, Mal found Kaylee in a state between delight in all the useful parts she had found and despair that her budget would not cover them all.

"'Bout the only things he don't have right to hand are buffer panels…. an nobody nohow has them never and compression coils, which is usually just a matter of cashy money."  
"Start with the urgent and work down the list by price. When we run out of cash, stop."  
Kaylee sighed. "Easy for you."  
Mal kissed the top of her head. "You can choose, mei mei. You've got the smarts."  
Kaylee's smile at the praise lit up the darkening yard office.   
"Them clouds look like rain. I can help you git yer purchases back to yer shuttle before it does." offered the yard manager, whose tee was marked Alan.   
Kaylee was rapidly sorting her prizes into three large aluminum crates. "Need it, need it, need it bad, need it REAL BAD, can manage, REAL BAD…." she muttered as she worked.  
Mal was schmoozing the manager while she worked. He suppressed a little annoyance at how the man, while appearing to monitor Kaylee's choices, was actually monitoring her very pretty ass as she bent to her task.   
"Quite the unusual business for these parts," Mal remarked.  
"Ship parts? Not really, and I carry land vehicle parts too."  
"I meant, you ain't got a rival mirrorin' you, like as most businesses around here."  
"Noticin' type, you? Yeah, there are two… clans, I guess, that don't like each other much. The McDonalds and the Schlotterbecks. Goes back 'bout 70 year, when the world was first settled. Old Man McDonald had him a pretty young wife, number two, no, three, had a passel of kids from the first two. Wore 'em out with poppin' babies. Some of his kids was older than Mrs. Three. He'd got her off-world, some say bought her at a slave market. Any hows, she sees a Schlotterbeck boy about her own age and runs off with him. Ol' McDonald and his boys come gunnin' to get her back and, well, he didn't and there's been bad blood ever since. She just passed a couple year ago, age 97. Foulmouthed old biddy, she was, but don't say anything against her in front of a Schlotterbeck. Mémére Schlotterbeck birthed fourteen kids and every one of them worships her."  
"Didn't see either of those names on any of the businesses."  
"Friendly Fred is a Schlotterbeck by name, but there are a lot of others that married into the original clans and took up the feud. And the women hereabouts tend to keep their birthnames and pass 'em to their kids. "  
"Makes it difficult for a stranger?"   
"I’m from away and negotiatin' can be tricky."

Kaylee had made her choices, with only a little pained stroking of the discards. As Mal counted out the coin, the yard manager, who had already made them a decent price, moved two or three pieces into her "need bad" box, getting a huge smile and a hug for his generosity.  
He smiled back," You come back and see us again, sweetheart. I'll watch for that buffer panel for you." 

The rain had started, a tropical downpour that soaked them to the skin as they stepped out the door. Alan loaded the crates into his mule and helped stow them in the shuttle where they took up nearly a third of the space. 

"Now we just wait for the groceries. We'll be off this world in just over an hour."  
"I'll wash up. Take off your shirt, captn. We can hang it up to dry for a bit."  
"Fair's fair, bao bei. You take off yours too."  
"If you think your bein' subtle, it ain't workin', Malcolm."  
"But you took your shirt off anyways." He pulled her to him sliding his hand up her back, expertly unfastening and removing her bra. Kaylee giggled and cuddled in close to his cool bare chest, kissing his nipples. The shirts fell to the floor, followed rapidly by coveralls, pants and footwear.  
Mal lifted her up and gently lay her on the bed. His big hands stroked her hair, her face, her belly. He gazed into her hazel eyes while he kissed her. Kaylee sighed. They rarely got a chance to be alone together with the other three crew on the ship. Even less often did they have time during the day. She relaxed and kissed him back, biting his lower lip gently and stroking his hair. It took only moments for his cock to harden against her belly, and she slid her hand between them to stroke him.   
"Wait." he said, "You always do for me, let me do for you."  
Kaylee was puzzled but let him lead. He slid down her body, kissing her throat, her collarbone. He suckled each breast until Kaylee could hardly breathe, then moved down to her navel and lower. This was something new for Kaylee. She had been sexing boys for a few years, but normally, if they got past the blowjob, they went straight on to some hard fucking. One of the reasons she liked fucking Mal was that he stayed awake for cuddling and talk after.   
Mal was lightly rubbing her privates. There was a sensitive spot she had discovered when she was about eleven and Mal was touching her there. Then he was kissing her there and licking and sucking there and she never wanted him to stop. It was hard to remember to breathe and she was moaning and gasping. Mal's tongue entered her cunt and licked her inside. She shivered although she felt hot and lightheaded. He returned to sucking but replaced his tongue with two of his thick fingers. Kaylee squealed. He touched, something, and Kaylee's back arched and she lost control of any conscious thought.   
Mal licked her once or twice more, then slid up her body, leaving his fingers inside her and kissed her red lips. She could feel a hot flush colouring her chest and face.   
Mal grinned. "Like that, Kaywinnet?"   
She was still trying to catch her breath when he teased at her cunt with the tip of his cock. "Please." she whispered. She really needed him to fill her right then. "Please."  
Mal gave a wicked grin and scraped his thumbnail across her lower lip. "Maybe we should stop now and get dressed."   
"Noooooo! Please fuck me, you gotta….Please!"   
His cock slid into her, filling all the places that had felt so empty. She clenched around him, trying to keep him there, forever, if possible. This was a moment she never wanted to end. He moved, sliding nearly out, then pushing back in hard and she gasped again. Every stroke brought some incoherent noise from her. She met every push with one of her own, enveloping him to the root and she could feel his balls tighten as he came inside her hot and hard. She wasn't sure who screamed in the pleasure of the moment. 

They lay in each other's arms, panting, with eyes locked. Then both of them were laughing, holding tight and kissing.

"Excuse me?"   
The lovers stared in shock at the boy in the doorway. "Umm. I knocked, but no one answered, and it wasn't locked so I brought your grocery order in out of the rain…."   
He was about fifteen, gangly and a bit pimply, and obviously embarrassed. And aroused.  
Kaylee laughed. Mal jumped up, naked, still somewhat erect, and barrelled towards the boy.  
"Malcolm." warned Kaylee, still giggling. "Let the boy do his job. No harm."  
Mal glared at the boy who put down the first box of groceries and said, "Uh sir, there are 10 more boxes, uh, where do you want them put?" His voice cracked on the last words and he blushed.   
"Over to the left," said Kaylee, since Mal was fully occupied with looming and glaring.   
The boy dashed out the door and just as quickly returned with another large box.   
"Get dressed Mal, let's give the lad a hand."   
Kaylee in damp coveralls and Mal in khaki pants stacked the boxes in the shuttle and followed them with two large bags of basmati rice. The lad handed Mal a bottle of chili-garlic sauce. "Uncle Fred sent this along. He said he appreciated your coming." The boy seemed suddenly to find a double entendre in his words and dashed out of the shuttle, slamming the door behind him.

"How long was he there watching us!"   
"No idea, Malcolm. But if he was watching, his future wife will have cause to be grateful for the lesson."  
"How does this happen! This never happens!"  
"I dunno, it happens to me all the time."


	11. THE JOB WELL DONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes things go smooth.

THE JOB WELL DONE

 

The mule raced up the ramp into the cargo bay.

“Lock ‘er up, Kaylee! Wash!, Take us out of this world.” called Mal. 

As the ramp rose, Jayne, Book and Zoe moved quickly to fasten down the mule and its crated cargo against sudden movement as the ship’s grav field took over from that of the moon. 

“I didn’t hear any explosions or shoutin”, Cap’n. Everythin went smooth?”

“Gorram right, Kaylee. When we hit Boros I’m gonna buy you any little shiny pretty you or Serenity is wantin.”

“We rich, Mal?” came Wash’ voice over the intercom.

“Not hardly, but if you know a world with a naked beach, plot a course for it right after Boros.”

“I know the coordinates to every naked beach in the Verse from every dockyard in the Verse.”

“Every boy needs a hobby. We out of atmo yet?”

“Beach sounds good, Cap’n.” said Kaylee.

“Kaywinnet, anywhere sounds good if you’re there with me.” Mal whispered and pulled his mechanic close, kissing the top of her head. 

Jayne, Book and Zoe were unloading the mule and stowing the cargo. Only one small crate went into the hidey-hole. Kaylee raised her eyebrows.

“Mostly legal stuff. Dried mushrooms, spice and spice mixes, chilies, nutmeg, vanilla beans, star anise, cumin seed. Luxury stuff for the Core , small bulk, high margins.”

“And what’s in the hidey-hole?”

“Magic, Jayne. Which has even higher margins.” Losing interest in the cargo, Mal whispered in Kaylee’s ear, making her giggle. The crew exchanged Looks. 

“Sir, I think general opinion has it that you two should get a room.” explained Zoe. 

“Yeah, there are bachelors present.” complained Jayne.

Mal grinned wolfishly. “I’ll be in my bunk.” He and Kaylee left, holding hands.

Jayne sighed.”Not only does he get the only available girl on board, but he steals my lines.”

 

“What’s magic about the stuff in the hidey hole?” Kaylee asked as she descended the ladder to Mal’s room. 

Mal waited below and slid his hands under her top, removing it slickly as she approached. Kaylee giggled as his big hands cupped her breasts. 

“Just some other mushrooms. They’re called “magic mushroom” and they grow wild on Ita Moon off Whittier. But no wheres else. Or at least no wheres else that they been found.”

“Ah. Illegal drugs.”

“Nothin addictive, mei mei. Hardly more exciting than sotweed, an that’s been around for centuries. Reckon bureaucrats just can’t understand anything they don’t often see.”

“Well, most of the stuff we move ain’t actually illegal, We just don’t bother with details like export permits and payin duty. Or taxes.” 

“Bao bei, I could listen to you discussin the ethics of crime forever, as long as you are nekkid while you do.”

“I am nekkid, Malcolm. But I don’t much want to talk right now. K?” Kaylee tried to slip her hands into his pants and was stymied until she unbuttoned the fly. She grasped her prize, bringing a pleased gasp from her lover.

“Kaywinnet…” Mal lifted her onto the narrow bed and lay down beside her, running his hands over her flat belly and round thighs. His finger found her clit and he circled it, then licked fingers before slipping them into her centre. Kaylee sighed and grasped Mal’s cock harder, sliding the smooth skin up the hard shaft. Her thumb rubbed over the slit on the helmet, smoothing moisture down as her hand moved back. 

Their hands continued to move as Mal leaned over to kiss Kaylee’s sweet mouth. Her pink tongue measured the line of his cupid’s bow lips. Her open eyes searched his face, his long lashes and the hot pink of his cheeks against his pale skin.

They lay side by side caressing each other and sharing kisses. Mal increased the pressure of his movements and Kaylee shuddered, losing track of how her hands were pleasing Mal. His tongue traced her lips, her eyes, her jawline. Instinct took her over and her back arched, pushing her hips into his hands. Her joyous cry was lost in his mouth.

Kaylee lay spent for a few moments, with her eyes closed and every nerve tingling. 

Then she sighed deeply. “Thank you, Malcolm. That was…wonderful.” She tightened her hand around his stiff hot cock and slid it up slowly. “What do you want me to do with this?” 

Mal grinned, “Just lie back, bao bei. I’ll figure it out.”

He rolled her under him, taking a moment to suck on her hard pink nipples. He always found her breasts a great pleasure to hold, to fondle, to suckle. Then he pushed her thighs apart with one knee and raised her hips. His hot cock slipped and slid around her wet folds, teasing her tender clit and stopping at her entrance.

“Ready?” “Always.” 

He pushed into her wet willing cunt, deep and tight. She gasped as he filled her, stretching her slowly and making her feel as if she had never been a complete woman before. His slow pushes and circling movements found her G spot quickly and, still sensitive from her first orgasm, she clenched tight around him. 

“Do you want to come now, Malcolm? Come for me, lover.” 

And with a deep thrust she felt his balls tighten and the heat of his orgasm filled her.

They collapsed together for a few moments until she pushed his heavy body off her. He grunted and smiled into her eyes. 

"I like your smile. You need to smile more often, Malcolm."

"You can smile for both of us. Kaywinnet. "


	12. INARA IS BRAZILIAN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> C.E. 2514 -- Inara rents the shuttle  
> C.E. 2517--Serenity -The Pilot, Book and the Tams board the ship.
> 
> A few months later:  
> Girl's Night In -- with screaming

INARA IS BRAZILIAN

 

It had been several weeks since Serenity had been near any prosperous world and Inara had been getting more and more annoyed with the Captain.  
"Without clients I cannot pay my rent and without my rent, Serenity cannot afford to fly." she fumed. "If you are not able to stop regularly at the kind of community where I can find work, it will be necessary for me to leave this ship and find transport that can accommodate my business."  
Mal had hemmed and hawed by finally gave orders to fly to Greenleaf where Inara had several existing clients and where he thought Serenity could pick up some cargo to transport, legally or not.

At dinner Inara asked Kaylee to visit the shuttle and help her with some preparations for her appointments.  
The rest of the crew were fascinated. How could their mechanic help a sophisticated and elegant Companion prepare to meet her wealthy and aristocratic clientele?

"I hope this isn't too strange, mei mei.," Inara told Kaylee once they were in the privacy of her quarters. "But while I can manage most of my cosmetic routine myself, there is one ritual that requires the help of another. It is very important to me and to my clients, but you may find it strange."  
"Wow, Nara. I'll help however you like, but what in the Verse could I help you with? I don't usually wear any makeup cept a little lip colour for fancy."  
"Well it's not what I would be adding. It's subtracting actually.  
"Have you ever had a Brazilian?"  
"That was a country on Earth-that-was, right? I didn't know there were any people around who would still call themselves Brazilian."  
"I'm a little surprised you knew even that, actually. But it isn't a person I'm talking about. Brazil was famous for its beach culture, which sported extremely beautiful women and men who wore very minimal clothing to show off their bodies.  
"To show those bodies to best advantage, they removed all their body hair.  
"A Brazilian is a method of removing body hair. Specifically pubic hair. And most Companions follow the same routine. It's part of our mystique, but being away from civilization and cosmetic parlours for so long… well, what I need is help removing regrowth."  
" I guess. That has to be the strangest and probably most kinky request I've ever had. Do you have a razor? Should you have a hot shower first to soften the hair?"  
"We don't use a razor. That regrows too fast and the stubble is harsh, like a man's beard."  
Kaylee thought about the rough cheeks of some of her lovers. Even the Captain's relatively light beard could be uncomfortable in the morning.  
"So… how?"  
"Wax. What we do is spread warm wax across the area, then push strips of cloth onto the wax. We allow the wax to harden a little, then pull the strips off quickly, like taking off a bandage. The hair comes off with the wax quickly and cleanly and doesn't grow back for weeks."  
"Okay, that sounds easy enough. Would you do me after I do you?"  
"Do you think Mal would appreciate it?" Inara laughed."Certainly. I have enough wax to do you and Zoe and River. Maybe we should do a girls' night?"  
"Yeah! Give our men something to think about! Well, Riv doesn't have a man, but we can't very well leave her out. Lemme go call them."  
"When you do, ask Simon for some smoothers. First time waxing can be uncomfortable. But I have some lovely soothing cream for any skin irritation."

When Zoe and River arrived, they agreed that a spa night would be fun. Inara opened her cosmetic trunks and pulled out a huge variety of skin oils, pumice stones, tweezers, body lotions, as well as hair curlers, straighteners, and thickeners. Zoe surprised the other women by producing a large box of perfumes and more lotions.  
"Wash keeps buying me stuff. But he’s no idea what I actually will use."  
Inara looked at some of the labels. "You're right. Some of these are quite expensive too. I'm surprised he can afford them."  
"I guess I'm worth it to him."  
The other women laughed companionably.  
"Of course you are, Zo," said Kaylee. "The sun shines out your ass, as far as Wash is concerned."  
"Pretty much."  
While they chatted the women had stripped down to their underwear. While Kaylee wore practical cotton, her panties and bra featured cute kitties and flowers. As expected, Inara wore delicate silk, but while the pieces were cut to expose a lot of flesh, there was also a lot of coverage. Zoe surprised them all. Her brassiere was of dainty pink lace with heavy boning to support her heavy breasts, but there was practically no fabric at all in the matching thong.  
River pulled off her loose dress and bicycle shorts, revealing that she did not wear either a bra or panties.  
The shuttle had a fold down commode and sink combination, like the dorm rooms, but no actual bathing facilities. The women were used to sponge baths and took advantage of having friends to wash their backs and get their hair thoroughly rinsed.  
Kaylee made sure that River's long tresses were washed and rinsed. Inara added a scalp massage to the youngster's treatment and smiled as the girl relaxed and cooed under her clever fingers. 

"So who wants to go first with the waxing?" asked Inara.  
"You asked me to do you to begin with, so why not me do you and we can all see what goes on?" Kaylee volunteered.  
"Fine. Also I'm used to it so there will be nothing to startle me."  
Inara heated the sweet smelling beeswax over her tea making stove. She stripped the fine satin sheets off her bed and replaced them with linen, which could be cleaned without damage from any wax drips. She lay down on the sheets and removed her panties.  
"Now, what you have to do is cover my mons veneris, and external labia and perineum with the warm wax. Then quickly, before the wax starts to harden, press the cloth strips into the wax.  
"Once it cools, you pull the cloths away as hard and fast as you can."  
"Okay, got it, except for what are mons veneris, and external labia and perineum?"  
River leaned over the Companion and spread her legs apart, "All over here and here and back here."  
Kaylee was overcome by a fit of the giggles. "I'm not used to this view of women." she explained.  
Zoe passed her the pot of warm wax. "If you can't manage, I think I can."  
"Nope. I'm fine. Just like painting a fence. Tell me if the wax is too hot."  
"Oh, you'd hear if it was!" laughed Inara.  
Kaylee worked quickly. Although the task at hand was unusual, she had quick reflexes and was able to cover the area and press the strips of cloth into the wax in very little time.  
"Okay, Zoe, do you want to do me?"  
Unlike the thin new growth Inara was concerned about, Kaylee's hair was fine and fairly long. Zoe had never seen pubic hair so straight, not even on her very blonde husband. Her own bush was thick and springy, curlier than her luxurious locks, which had straightened under their own weight. Inara, only slightly inconvenienced by all the wax and cloth adorning her crotch, prepared Zoe once she had completed decorating Kaylee.  
The three women were overcome by laughter as they surveyed their ridiculous privates.  
River looked on solemnly.  
"What about you, Riv?" asked Kaylee. "Do you want to be as silly looking as we are?"  
"The bandages are on the wrong place."  
"Well, I think we're ready to remove them anyway. Do any of you want an analgesic?" asked Inara.  
"Don't see why. Should we take yours off first?"  
"Yes. As quickly as you can, so everything comes at once."  
Inara braced herself as Kaylee grabbed a loose end and pulled hard, using her strong mechanic's arms.  
The Companion let out her breath with a whoosh and grabbed the bottle of inter engine whiskey Kaylee had brought to the party.  
"Wow Inara you're as bare as a baby's bum! Why would any grownass man want a woman that looks like a little girl?"  
"Actually don't answer that. It could be too disturbing." said Zoe."Me next?"  
Inara gave her some pills. "Take them. This can be uncomfortable for a little while after the strips come off."  
"I can do uncomfortable."  
Inara grasped the strips at Zoe's belly and pulled hard. Zoe gasped and lunged forward. "圣洁他妈的龟睾丸 ！" She yelled. Then she grabbed the whiskey from the side table and gulped it down.  
"You're next, Kaylee, mei mei" crooned Inara.  
"May hap be I could just wash it off?" asked Kaylee stunned by the reaction of the warrior woman, a woman who had stoically accepted multiple gunshot wounds in the time Kaylee had known her.  
"It's just the surprise, mei mei. Honestly, it's over really fast, and then we'll put some of this nice tea tree oil and aloe on there.Just lie back."  
"No power in the Verse can stop her," murmured River.  
Nervously Kaylee lay back on the linen sheets while Inara grasped the cloth strips and Zoe pranced in the background grasping her own crotch and swearing imaginatively in English and Chinese.  
Inara pulled and Kaylee's groin caught fire. Pain swept over her and her eyes nearly popped out of her head."一条紫色的蛇血！他妈的喂养 mullet肝脏的底部!脏土褐色！绿色的眼睛麻风昆虫！" she screamed.

In the cargo bay, the men were playing a fast game of nameless ball. When the screaming erupted, they stopped and stared up at the airlock entrance to the shuttle.  
"Usually you can't hear a thing that is going on in there." said Jayne, with a lascivious grin.  
"And I've spoken to you before about tryin' " scolded Mal. "Think they're all right? Could that sister of yourn gone batshit on them?"  
"Zoe's up there. She could handle anything short of a Reaver attack, all by herself." Wash replied." Besides the only one of us River has ever hurt is Jayne. "  
"I could go and see. But Inara did ask me for some smoothers.."  
"And you gave them to her? What kinda party did she say they were havin anyways?"  
The initial scream, which Mal had identified as Zoe, based on some war cries he had heard from her in the distant past, was replaced by a higher pitched stream of filthy language.  
"That sounds like Kaylee," said Mal. "she don't sound too happy."  
"Should we go up?"  
The men turned to Wash, as the married man and the one with the most experience in living with a woman.  
"I think we should let them work out the problem themselves. They seem to be a mite upset at the moment and it wouldn't do to make them decide it was us they are upset with."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps if the series had continued (pause for outbreak of sobbing and curses), we would have seen more of how the women's friendships progressed.


	13. MORE APPROPRIATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place between "Safe" when Simon really started to notice Kaylee and "Our Mrs. Reynolds". Your idea of "It's been a while." may vary from that of a healthy thirtysomething man. Two weeks? Two months?

**MORE APPROPRIATE**  
  
  
  
At the New Dunsmuir spaceport, Kaylee had set up her lawn chair outside the cargo ramp and was watching for possible paying passengers, when Mal squatted down beside her.  
  
“Lookin ta fill up the rest of the passenger cabins, bao bei?”  
  
“If they got money to pay, don’t see why not, Cap'n.”  
  
“Might not be the safest for your doctor and his sister, I’m thinkin.”  
  
“He’s not my….” Kaylee blushed.  
  
“But you’d like him to be, right?”  
  
“He’s real shueah, Mal. An yeah, I’d be right interested if he made a move.”  
  
“Then I guess, I should step back a bit. Give you more space. I can’t say I like the boy, but he is a good doc, and … he’s closer to your age.”  
  
“Oh no, Mal! I don’t want you to step back. And we’ve talked bout this “old man” shit before. You’re in your prime, ask me.” Kaylee’s wide hazel eyes were direct.  
  
“Look, mei mei. We had an ... arrangement and that's bin good. But you shouldn’t see it as long term or anything to make you avoid findin someone better. I’ll step back and let you see where things go with the doc.”  
  
“Does that mean I can’t come to your bunk any more? Cause that’s been some of the best fun I’ve had on this boat.”  
  
“I won’t say I haven’t enjoyed grapplin with you, mei mei. But mebbe it’s time to stop and let you find someone more appropriate. An I can’t see anyone as proper as the doc makin any move if he thinks we are something.”  
  
“Aren’t we? “ Kaylee pouted. “I kinda thought we were special. Not just that I was the only piece of ass available to you.”  
  
“Kaywinnet Lee Frye! Don’t ever let anyone call you that! If ever does,  call me and I’ll caponize the bugger!”  
  
Kaylee’s eyes brimmed. She folded up her chair and took it back into the depths of Serenity.   
  
Mal stared after her. “Idiot.” he thought. “Gorram idiot.”


	14. LILAC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor has a proposition for Kaylee

CHAPTER NINE  
  
LILAC   
  
The crew had split up to enjoy the pleasures of landfall and there was no communal dinner that night.   
  
Simon and River were cautiously confining themselves to the ship however, and Simon had sent out for pizza to be delivered.   
  
The cargo ramp was down, but the airlock door was closed for security.   
  
When Simon heard the buzzer, he opened the door with his coin in hand.   
  
But rather than dinner, Kaylee was at the door, her arms filled with parcels, mostly leaking grease and all looking heavy.   
  
“Let me help you with those,” he exclaimed, still trying to get used to the idea of this cute girl being the caretaker of a spaceship.   
  
The women his family knew may have been as likely to be professionals and salarymen as the men, but he knew no women who worked with their hands. Even civil engineers worked with computers, not steel beams and ceramic trusses, which were handled by robot workers.   
  
Kaylee fascinated him.   
  
And her natural joy and frank speech puzzled the Core boy, used to carefully calm faces and circumspect words.   
  
“I’m okay. Just bring that dolly over here so I kin dump this stuff for sortin later.”   
  
Her coverall was sweaty and her hair was coming loose from her pigtails. Simon thought she was the cutest girl he had ever seen.   
  
“你吃了吗？, he asked politely in Core accented Mandarin.   
  
“I grabbed some dog on a stick at a vendor a while back. I guess I’ll just forage in the icebox.”   
  
“I’ve sent out for a pizza. There will be lots, I ordered an extra large just to have leftovers. "   
  
Kaylee was delighted. This was as close to a date as she could imagine.   
  
“Umm. Actually.” the doctor continued. “could I take advantage of you?”   
  
Kaylee gaped. Simon blushed.   
  
“Oh,uh. I meant. When the delivery gets here, could you take the pizza and pay the guy? I’ll give you the money. I just thought now that it might not be too wise to show my face on an Alliance world like Beaumonde.”   
  
Kaylee deflated, but kept a smile on her face.   
  
“Sure. Cap'n had to tell me not to look for more passengers this aft. I hadn’t thought about your sitchation.”   
  
“I’m profoundly grateful for the understanding of the Captain. And for the rest of you on the crew. We are putting you in a difficult position.”   
  
“Nah. We’d be sneakin around anyways. On accounta the crime. There’s the buzzer.”   
  
But she was disappointed at being part of “the rest of you”.    
  
\------------------------------------------------------------   
  
When Mal got back to the ship, he saw Kaylee and Simon in the kitchen laughing over their meal. River was with them, leaning against her brother and picking at her food.   
  
Without disturbing them, he went to his bunk.   
  
He stared at the bulkhead above his bed remembering the previous night when Kaylee, falling apart in his arms had murmured, “Si….” and stiffened before kissing him frantically.   
  
He told himself it was right to let her go where her heart was leading her. He had no right to keep her to himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanna ruin a relationship fast? Just murmur the wrong name while making love.


	15. CHAPTER FIFTEEN - ON ARIEL AND AFTER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the heist, Inara was having her required physical.

**  
  
ON ARIEL - DURING THE HOSPITAL HEIST AND AFTER**

  
  
'Inara Serra, for an annual checkup with Doctor Majumber.'

'Of course, Ms. Serra. The doctor will be right with you.'

The assistant led Inara to a brightly lit, bare room and gave her a light silk robe in exchange for her street clothes. The doctor arrived just as Inara fastened the button that held the robe at her waist.

'Ms. Serra, how pleasant to see you again. I understand you have been out system since last year?'

'Nearly two years now, Doctor. I decided to see something of the Verse while I can.'

'While you can? Have you had any recurrence of symptoms?'

'Not really. Your medications seem to keep my energy levels up and I haven’t seen any other symptoms.'

'Good. That’s how the meds are supposed to work. We can’t cure you, but we can keep you healthy for many years. Still, unless a cure is found, you will have a shorter lifespan than most women. No more than a hundred years, perhaps only ninety.'

'Only forty more years instead of sixty or more. Sometimes it seems that is quite long enough.'

'Mmm. Do you notice that emotion coming on just before you take your meds? Depression can be an effect of low hormone levels.'

'No. Not really. Perhaps it is frustration with my choices.' 'Mmm?' 'I left because everything was always the same. Mal… a friend referred to my clientele as “rich and appropriately hygienic men’ and perhaps there was a sameness to them all. I had hoped that on the Border and the Rim, I would meet more interesting personalities.'

'Mmm?'

'Oh, the clients are somewhat different, but the really different ones I meet are the ship’s crew and their colleagues. Some are awful, there is a greasy squirt called Badger they work with out of Persephone: I’ve scraped less disgusting things off the sole of my shoe. And some are marvellous. We met a fine law officer on Paradiso, who really understood ‘peace, order and good government’ and how to use the rule of law to keep his community hale.'

'Do you plan to return to the Madrassa? Deep breaths, please.'

'Not just yet. Soon. Perhaps not here on Ariel and almost certainly not on Sihohn.'

'Grip your hand. Fine. And now I need to draw some blood.'

'Use my right arm, the left has very small veins, I’m told.'

'Your skin texture is excellent. The slight crepeyness has disappeared. You have regained some of your subcutaneous fat.'

'I’m surprised. It can be hard on the ship and there have been times when we had almost nothing to eat.'

The doctor was shocked. ‘But surely. You have your own food.'

'We share what we have. I’ve bought supplies from my own money often enough and added to the common supply. Zoe, she’s the first mate and quartermaster, probably knows but she’s never mentioned it.'

'Lie down now and don’t worry, I warmed the speculum.'

'Which is why I prefer my doctor to be a woman.'

The doctor smiled. 'There aren’t many male doctors, of course. Perhaps I’m prejudiced, but they lack the thoughtfulness and bedside manner of women.'

'We have a male doctor travelling with us.' Inara paused, thinking rapidly. 'Or at any rate, we did. He disembarked some time ago. He was a very cool and distant personality.'

'I’m going to take a sample now. You will feel a pinch.'

Inara knew it would be more than that, but relaxed into the pain.

'And done. My assistant will take you to the imager and when you get back, I will have all your results and a new supply of medications.'

The imaging took about half an hour. The assistant brought Inara her own clothing and served her tea and mooncakes while she waited for Dr. Majumber.

When she arrived, Inara offered her a cup of the jasmine tea.

'Oooh, lovely. I’ve been run off my feet for the past four hours. Such a pleasure to sit down.'

She sipped and smiled. 'Everything looks good. Your levels are well within the normal range and there is no need for you to stop working. Both you and your clients are safe. There’s no resurgence and I won’t need to change your prescription.'

'I may have difficulty filling a script if I continue travelling.'

'I can give you another year’s supply, but just in case I’ll give you a written script as well. I think I can trust you not to double dose?'

'Of course.'

'Of course. Wave me if you feel anything might be changing. It won’t be a sudden change, so perhaps you should test weekly. If there is a change, move that to daily and wave immediately. You can access help at any madrassa, of course. Hmm. And, since you mention that food can be a problem, I’m going to give you a supply of multi-vitamins and micronutrients.'

'We always have formed protein.'

'Mmmm. That’s probably fine, but there have been some news reports of counterfeit protein appearing on the market. Nothing poisonous, but definitely lacking in the nutrition it is meant to have. And avoid too much soy-based foodstuffs, of course. The estrogen-like hormones won’t do you any favours.'

'Can I have deep fried tofu with broccoli, at least? I love that.'

'Occasionally! Not every day. There’s an old saying, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Oh, that’s something else. Do you eat meat at all? Many Buddhists don’t.'

'Rarely. But I am not a vegetarian.'

'There have also been some reports of problems with snake-based foods and medicines. So avoid those too. Perhaps other reptiles as well.'

'Thank you for mentioning that. My clients often will give me expensive foods as some sort of … bribe, courtship? There is a snake and shrimp stir-fry that is very trendy right now on the Border. Apparently it is considered an aphrodisiac.'

'My goodness, as if a beautiful woman like you isn’t enough of an aphrodisiac!'

'Thank you, but I think it’s meant to make me horny, not the client. And of course, it always works.'

The two women laughed.

 

Inara visited the Wardrobe, bringing in the garments she was tired of, and exchanging them for others.

She was pleased that at the end of shopping for ‘business’ clothing she had a few credits left over and decided to pick out a few dresses and other things for River. They were cheap although there were not many suitable items in a Companion’s wardrobe. 

She also found a very floral full skirted dress with a built in crinoline for Kaylee.

She had a nap in a guest room and a light supper with the House Mistress, who asked more questions about _Serenity_ and its adventures than Inara was comfortable with. Inara was very conscious of her slip with the doctor, but apparently that had been taken as small talk and not passed on.

To complete her busy day, she stopped at the publicity studio for a new set of captures and to hand in captures and vids taken while she had been travelling.

The festivities at Jiangyin, before the Saffron fiasco, were particularly exotic for Border or Core clients, just as those taken in sophisticated Core parks and interiors attracted the Rim clients.

Kaylee had been snapping captures of her dazzling new friend for months and Inara found quite a few of those were quite acceptable for her publicity.  She arranged for a few of the best to be forwarded to the gossips to keep her name and image fresh, particularly noting that she was available for appointments far from the Core planets.  

 

Inara arrived back on _Serenity_ as the crew returned from their robbery. The crew were excited and overjoyed at the success of Simon’s plan. She watched them all with pleasure, knowing how important the job had been to keeping them flying.

She had not exaggerated when she told the doctor that they had gone without food from time to time. The rental on her shuttle was the only reliable income the crew had. It took all of Inara’s patience not to speak out when her scheduled appointments were ignored for one of Mal’s harebrained and dangerous jobs.  

But she loved this motley crew. And being dàjiě to Kaylee and River was particularly precious. Oddly, it was those relationships that made her consider leaving _Serenity_ to take up a teaching position and continue her rise in the Guild to House Mother.

Retirement…at least from working with clients, was beginning to feel like a good option.  

Kaylee was leaning into Mal’s casual embrace, both excited by the success of the job. Inara had seen that Mal liked to touch people, especially Kaylee.

Jayne was more likely to touch things when he wanted to calm himself.

Gathering the two girls, River looking pale and upset, Kaylee bubbling, Inara led them to her shuttle. She gave River the ‘new’ dresses and watched as she stripped and donned one after another. A blue slipdress seemed to appeal to her in particular, but she was still distraught. Inara commed Simon to retrieve her while Kaylee tried on the very feminine dress chosen for her.  

The dress suited Kaylee, turning her from the sweet girl mechanic into a Sunday School princess. The full skirt and crinoline emphasized her tiny waist and the low neckline curved around her suddenly noticeable bosom.

When Simon arrived, his eyes widened but he said nothing about Kaylee’s transformation, distracted by River’s chatter which centered on blue /azure/ lapis/ turquoise/ sapphire. Inara thought she might have seen a display of jewelry or perhaps was focussing on the unusually high percentage of blue eyes on the ship.

Kaylee sagged when Simon left. 'He doesn’t really see me, does he, Nara?'

'He saw you, and he liked what he saw, mei mei. His eyes widened and his irises got larger.'

'How did you notice that? He barely glanced at me. '

'Years of training, bao bei. Would you like me to do your hair and add a little makeup? You could stun everyone at dinner tonight.'

'Don’t know if it would do any good. I’m just greasy little Kaylee.'

'Bao bei! Don’t ever think that way.' Inara wrapped Kaylee in her arms in front of the long mirror that reflected her bed. 'Look at yourself! You have lovely eyes and elegant cheekbones. Your lips… ' Inara added a little gloss to Kaylee’s pink mouth. 'See, adorable.'

She pinched Kaylee’s cheeks and they warmed. A small brush appeared in her hand and added length to her lashes. ‘Look at yourself. You are beautiful.'

Kaylee turned away from the mirror. 'Paint don’t help. I just ain’t pretty. Why should Simon ever want me when he could have any fancy Core girl ever?'

'Because you are not fancy?' Inara hugged Kaylee to her own firm bosom. 'Because you are honest and sweet and have a heart bigger than _Serenity_?'

Inara kissed Kaylee’s cheek and gazed into her eyes. Then she turned and pressed her scarlet lips to Kaylee’s pink mouth. Kaylee’s eyes widened. 'Oh,' she said and Inara’s kiss deepened, her tongue slipping into the girl’s startled exclamation.  
  
---  
  
**Author's Note:**

> The War Reparations are based very loosely on the Marshall Plan set up in Europe after World War II. The Americans encouraged the rebuilding and growth of Germany, having concluded that the oppressive Treaty of Versailles which ended WWI, was a root cause of WWII, and planning to prevent a reoccurence.  
> Any large bureaucracy loses track of what is happening on the fringes. I don't see the Alliance as an evil empire. To some extent, they were probably right that the Rim worlds would be better off with Central controls. Look at the oppressive local Rim governments we see on Canton and in the episode "Heart of Gold".  
> The Alliance also has a medical outreach as we see in "The Train Job", where the central government is supplying, apparently free, medicine to the miners, which is stolen by the Serenity crew for the criminal Niska.
> 
> Canon has it that both Mal and Zoe were recorded by a grateful senior officer with their battlefield ranks. They then received mustering out pay based on those ranks. I am assuming that they are already aware of this.


End file.
